Subi: Alright, so I'm supposed to be working on my Swords story... The main issue with that is this- I don't know where to go from the point I've left off at... So sue me. I'm working on figuring it out. It'll get up sometime soon (hopefully). Just to note, the bold/italic part is the computer, and the main section of italics is the actual journal entry.

Chimes

DATA ARCHIVE: TAE-01AB-014 PRIME

TYPE: JOURNAL RECORD

FILE NUMBER: 0000021764

RESTRICTED FILE! PASSWORD?

Pax.

OVERRIDE ACCEPTED. RETRIEVING FILE... LOADING...

LOGGED ENTRY:

I saw Elita again today. For such a large city, we seem to keep running into each other here in Iacon. We were talking over lunch and I found out why she fears her adoptive brother so much. It would seem that her 'brother' is a forcer, and it explains a lot on why she keeps trying to avoid going home. I'm not sure what I can do to help, but I swear on my life I'll be there to support her if she asks for it.

Talked to Magnus earlier. He said he's living in an apartment on the other side of the city now. To be honest, I'm a little surprised its taken Sentinel so long to kick him out. However, from the sounds of it, Sentinel has been on edge for the past few months, so I suppose Magnus might have left onhis own to give him some more space to work out his problems. I haven't heard from him in that amount of time. Magnus says he hasn't heard from him either. I hope Sentinel's alright.

Had a strange vision last night... It was terrifying. I hope... I hope it never truly happens. I don't want to put too much of it down, due to trying to recall such things usually sets off my memory attacks, but I'll briefly describe it... I'm not sure where it was, but there was a huge battle on the outskirts of a city- I think it might have been Iacon-, and I was participating in it. I remember thinking I saw Jetfire go down at some point, and Prowl... But I remember two other mechs that were nearby and... the silver Decepticon from Atlantis was there... I recall me challenging him, but he didn't take me seriously. I saw myself lunging out to stop him, but he fired on Magnus and another blue, white, and gold sparkling that were there... All I remember after that was a crushing pain in my chest...

I hope this vision doesn't come true, I get the feeling I was related to the sparkling closer than I am to Magnus...

END FILE. NEW INQUIRY?

"No," I told the computer in front of me. "Shut down systems to standby."

SHUTTING DOWN...

For a long moment, I sat with my chin resting on my clasped hands as I leaned on the desk I was sitting behind, thinking. My brother had died a few weeks ago, and I'd found his journal discs hidden away in a box in the desk of his study. One of the things that puzzled me was why he felt he had to hide his journals away so cleverly. Being an Autobot, he had a thing going on with trust when he was alive, so I found it didn't make much sense as to why he would hide it... Unless there was danger in the knowledge that could be discovered in them somewhere. It made me wonder if he knew when he was going to die in the first place. Why else would he have hidden them away so secretly, and then only tell me the password to override the files?

In restless thought, I stood and moved over to the window on the other side of the room to look out at the lights of Autobot City in the far distance. I vaguely examined the dim glow they gave off, and somehow found myself wondering if a ghost gives off a similar glow. Primus himself knows I keep seeing things, why not just add ghosts to the list? The walking dead is nothing compared to the strange little spydors I swear are running around the city like no tomorrow, yet no one else sees! At times, I see wreckages of crashed star fighters that aren't there. Just the other day, I felt like I was watching some strange movie as I was driving to the Council building; One moment I thought I saw the truck ahead of me swerve and smash into another hauler, yet when I blinked again, there wasn't a truck on the highway anywhere near me at all! For some reason, it reminds me of the time almost eight years ago where we had to chase around my brother and he kept disappearing on us, like he seemed content to be doing to me now.

Or was I just imagining him? Everyone else I'd mentioned it to acted like it was a joke, except my oldest sister, Shiori. But even still, there are times when Sentinel's sparkling, Hot Rod, is over, I swear that the small, red-gold bot can see something I can't. Not that it really bothers me. I just wonder why the small bot smiles at some tall, unseen thing, laughs at some unheard joke, or squeaks in delight at some unknown presence tickling him...

Okay, I admit it. It does bother me. Why is it I can never see this particular ghost, even though I already have a likely suspicion who it was? Why can I only see the effects of him? I gently put the band of my helm against the cold windowpane, shutting my optics off. I wanted to see him. Wanted to hear his calming, almost royal, voice...

Wanted to know why he was still hanging around.

"Damn it all, brother," I sighed. "Do you just like to cause me confusion or something? I never could figure you out..." I tiredly reactivated my optics and looked at my reflection in the glass...

Except I wasn't the only one in the reflection.

My optics went wide, seeing who was standing behind me, just as an insubstantial hand was laid on my shoulder.

His hand.

"By the Allspark, you've got to be kidding me." I glanced over my shoulder, and saw no one was there. My optics flashed back to the window, and sure enough, there he was.

"Why are you still here?" I quietly asked his reflection. His hand withdrew from my shoulder.

"Wait-" I turned again, hoping that I could convince him to stay, even if I couldn't see him normally. "Can't I help you?"

Silence.

"I just want to understand..." I felt my legs give out, and I fell to my knees. "Optimus please... Why do you remain?" I remained there, tense, waiting for anything for a reply...

And was rewarded with the soft, faint notes of his old pipe-flute playing a quiet, sad tune that harmonized with the wind chimes outside on the front porch...